This review may contain spoilers
Not my Cup of tea
Bad on my part, but this is serving as my first Taiwanese BL of this year that I'm seeing, and luckily, I thought this was good. Not great, personally, because these types of series are just not my cup of tea, but, the men are beautiful, they know how to do physical well, and the acting isn't all that bad either.
Let's Dive In.
I had heard so much hype about this series that I knew I had to hop on the train and see what this was all about. Now, I think generally, a lot of series that portray on a scale of mild to super toxic relationships outshine series that portray healthier ones (for reasons being above my understanding), and I would label the same thing with these characters as well. Homeboy definitely has the case of Stockholm's syndrome -- falling for the person who turned his life into a living hell, This is fictional, so I'll look past the, 'he-needs-therapy-to-get-over-this' mumbo jumbo, Yes, his captor turns out to be a good person, just some ill intentions in the first half. The only thing I think needed a little more time was Zong Yi'a falling for Ze Rui. It feels very out of the blue. One day he hates him, the next he's trying to bake him a cake and confess his undying love, on top of being a minor (geez-la-wheez). it just felt rushed in my opinion, even if Zong Yi needed that companionship or someone to care for him, what we get before he falls just isn't enough. Now moving on to their actual relationship, cute! But again, something about them doesn't work for me, maybe it's because of the age difference, but I'm usually a fan of that, so I don't know what it is about this couple that just doesn't sell me all the way. After about episode 10, I started skipping over their scenes cause I just really could care less.
Moving onto the secondary couple -- again cute, we have a little bit more fun with their dynamic, but again, and this is just for me, I just don't see it working out. One, their brothers, albeit not blood-related, but still they grew up together as siblings. Two, both of them seem too hot-headed and too quick to want to throw a punch or force each other into something. Again, just a very toxic couple that works for other viewers cause they're hot and can kiss (I'll give them that).
As individual characters, I really liked them all. Especially Zong Yi's family dynamic and the things he goes through to save his dad. Along with the cunning friendship between him and Ai Di. The cameos were nice, Wayne does a great job at being a bad guy, and looks great doing it. As I said before, I just don't think this was the series for me because I think too hard about relationships and don't see how they come about or how they'll last, especially when they're built on a rough/toxic path.
Sadly, my favorite part about this series was during the last episode, we see the behind the scenes of the cast and crew, and it just puts a smile on your face regardless of how you feel about the series because it just goes to show all the hard work everyone put behind this series. End credits get me all the time (sigh).
Ratings:
Story: 7.5/10 - Lots of it I skipped through by Episode 10 cause I wasn't really invested in any of the couples and just wanted to see their outcome and quickly. The beginning is nice though, a very intriguing starting point, and then it just kind of wanes for me. Not bad, but not the best.
Acting: 9.5/10 - They could all cry when need be! Great! Zong Yi's actor did the best for sure.
Music: 4/5/10 - Again, not my usual taste in music, so it's kind of loud and a bit hectic sounding. It distracted me so much that I actually paid attention to it.
Recommndation Value: 6.5/10 - I can see the appeal in the series and the reason why it was so hyped around. Great acting and a great story if you're into tropes/plots like this one. Not the first Tawinese BL I'd recommend, maybe the 8th, but these men are beautiful so there's that.
Let's Dive In.
I had heard so much hype about this series that I knew I had to hop on the train and see what this was all about. Now, I think generally, a lot of series that portray on a scale of mild to super toxic relationships outshine series that portray healthier ones (for reasons being above my understanding), and I would label the same thing with these characters as well. Homeboy definitely has the case of Stockholm's syndrome -- falling for the person who turned his life into a living hell, This is fictional, so I'll look past the, 'he-needs-therapy-to-get-over-this' mumbo jumbo, Yes, his captor turns out to be a good person, just some ill intentions in the first half. The only thing I think needed a little more time was Zong Yi'a falling for Ze Rui. It feels very out of the blue. One day he hates him, the next he's trying to bake him a cake and confess his undying love, on top of being a minor (geez-la-wheez). it just felt rushed in my opinion, even if Zong Yi needed that companionship or someone to care for him, what we get before he falls just isn't enough. Now moving on to their actual relationship, cute! But again, something about them doesn't work for me, maybe it's because of the age difference, but I'm usually a fan of that, so I don't know what it is about this couple that just doesn't sell me all the way. After about episode 10, I started skipping over their scenes cause I just really could care less.
Moving onto the secondary couple -- again cute, we have a little bit more fun with their dynamic, but again, and this is just for me, I just don't see it working out. One, their brothers, albeit not blood-related, but still they grew up together as siblings. Two, both of them seem too hot-headed and too quick to want to throw a punch or force each other into something. Again, just a very toxic couple that works for other viewers cause they're hot and can kiss (I'll give them that).
As individual characters, I really liked them all. Especially Zong Yi's family dynamic and the things he goes through to save his dad. Along with the cunning friendship between him and Ai Di. The cameos were nice, Wayne does a great job at being a bad guy, and looks great doing it. As I said before, I just don't think this was the series for me because I think too hard about relationships and don't see how they come about or how they'll last, especially when they're built on a rough/toxic path.
Sadly, my favorite part about this series was during the last episode, we see the behind the scenes of the cast and crew, and it just puts a smile on your face regardless of how you feel about the series because it just goes to show all the hard work everyone put behind this series. End credits get me all the time (sigh).
Ratings:
Story: 7.5/10 - Lots of it I skipped through by Episode 10 cause I wasn't really invested in any of the couples and just wanted to see their outcome and quickly. The beginning is nice though, a very intriguing starting point, and then it just kind of wanes for me. Not bad, but not the best.
Acting: 9.5/10 - They could all cry when need be! Great! Zong Yi's actor did the best for sure.
Music: 4/5/10 - Again, not my usual taste in music, so it's kind of loud and a bit hectic sounding. It distracted me so much that I actually paid attention to it.
Recommndation Value: 6.5/10 - I can see the appeal in the series and the reason why it was so hyped around. Great acting and a great story if you're into tropes/plots like this one. Not the first Tawinese BL I'd recommend, maybe the 8th, but these men are beautiful so there's that.
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